Leicester Equestrian

Discover the Pleasures of Horse Riding in Leicestershire

Charnwood Forest is a wonderfully unique area where rugged outcrops of ancient rock overlook a blend of fields, stone walls, woodland and picturesque reservoirs.

South Leicestershire consists of gentler country around Market Bosworth, Lutterworth and Kibworth, low hills swell out of shallow valleys and villages are often pinpointed by church spires peeping above dark spinneys. Near Foxton and Gumley the Laughton Hills tumble down to the Grand Union Canal and Welland Valley, a particularly attractive spot.

High Leicestershire The tract of land between Market Harborough, Tilton On The Hill and Melton Mowbray is some of the loneliest countryside in the Midlands. Many villages were deserted centuries ago and remote hills such as Robin-a-Tiptoe peer out over pastures and the occasional farmhouse.

The Wolds Stretch away to the north and east of Melton Mowbray, These breezy rolling uplands afford long views, but also conceal lovely villages of cream or brown stone.

The Vale Of Belvoir is the home of Stilton Cheese. Although almost flat, the character of the vale is assured by the prominent wooded edge of the wolds with the romantic silhouette of Belvoir Castle.

Beacon Hill near Loughborough has a circuit of specially laid out horse tracks. They pass through woodland, cross open heath and skirt the summit with its jagged crags, traces of a Bronze Age fort and superb views over Charnwood Forest and the Soar Valley. The tracks may be closed in very wet weather.

Burrough Hill, Five miles south of Melton Mowbray, provides excellent horse riding. There are tracks across the summit, which is dominated by the impressive ramparts of an Iron Age stronghold. On a clear day, the hills of Charnwood Forest, some fifteen miles away, can be seen.

Bosworth Battlefield, Where King Richard III was defeated by the future Henry VII in 1485, is crossed by a bridleway. Part of this shows the Battlefield Trail and the location where the course of English history was dramatically changed can be viewed from horseback.

Sence Valley, a new country park near Ibstock, has lakes, plantations, a pleasent view towards Heater and a bridleway through the middle. It is part of the developing National Forest, which extends from the outskirts of Leicester and Loughborough to Burton On Trent. A trail suitable for horses runs from the National Forest Visitor Centre at Moira to Donisthorpe and Measham. Other trails are planned.